Circling: Two Male Buns (Neutered)

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 4sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 12 months ago by Ailsa.

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- 03/31/2018 at 7:39 PM
  Ailsa
  Participant
  17 posts
  Hello,
  
  So I have two male buns, around 1year old. They are not siblings, but I have had them both since they were 12-weeks old. They have never been separated – were neutered at the same time and kept together during recovery. 90% of the time they are the best of friends. Recently, however, they have begun circling and nipping each other. They are obviously vying for dominance – Jon Snow is the more placid of the two but the more naturally dominant bun (he seems to receive the majority of the grooming) but when Tyrion realised the grooming isn’t reciprocated, he starts mounting and is pretty much the agitator when it comes to circling/nipping.
  
  I’m basically looking for a little advice here. Up until now I’ve been intervening if the circling becomes too animated…but am i supposed to let it play out until they establish the dominant bun? And if not, what can i do to settle them?
  
  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
- 04/01/2018 at 12:31 AM
  OnyxMoon
  Participant
  260 posts
  Typically getting a pair from babies is not recommended because they tend to fight when their hormones kick in. I would consider your experience lucky because they didn’t fight. Also during recovery because hormones are wacky and still draining for a month after the surgery.
  
  How long ago were they neutered? Maybe during recovery their bond broke? This happened with a pair i have when we got the female spayed, and they had been bonded for 2+ years.
  
  It could be possible that the boys weren’t bonded and were just tolerant of each other from the beginning.
  
  However, since they are showing signs of aggression, i highly suggest separating them and beginning the bonding process. If these behaviors continue, its a recipe for disaster and we wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt! I would say you could skip the pre-bonding, since they already know who each other are scent wise.
  
  Also, their names are pretty neat! I enjoy GOT as well!
- 04/01/2018 at 3:57 AM
  Ailsa
  Participant
  17 posts
  Hi OnyxMoon, thank you for your reply ☺
  
  They were neutered at 18 weeks and recovered side by side, seemed to comfort each other and have been inseparable since.
  
  The only time they are separated is when Tyrion gets a “time-out” for his behaviour (I.e we put Tyrion back in his cage and shut the door to separate them for 10mins). However when we do this, Tyrion sits at one side and Snow at the other – chewing the bars to get back to each other. When we open it again, they’re licking and snuggling like crazy. It’s like they can’t bear to be separated.
  
  I’m completely of two minds – on the one hand I don’t want the circling/nipping to become violent, but I also worry about separating them as they seem quite agitated during the 10mins that we do…
  
  We’ve recently reduced their free space – due to having almost no skirting board or table legs left, they now have a puppy pen attached to the cage instead of a whole room (though they still get 4-5hours exercise each day). Could this be a factor on their behaviour?
  
  Ha, they definitely suit the names they’ve been given ?
- 04/01/2018 at 4:58 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  I think it’s worth doing some bonding sessions. I don’t think you necessarily need to separate them yet – often bonded bunnies do get a bit frisky and annoying during spring time, so it could be related to that. It could also just be about establishing dominance though if you never formally bonded them.
  
  Do you always have to physically separate, or does Tyrion listen if you just say ‘NO’?
  
  Can you try doing some ‘bonding’ sessions in a neutral space, or doing some stress bonding like taking them for a drive? It might help to solidify their bond. You could also try some banana on Tyrion’s head to encourage Jon to groom him, if it seems to be started by a lack of grooming.
- 04/02/2018 at 7:49 AM
  Ailsa
  Participant
  17 posts
  Yeah I’m thinking its the dominance battle as, like you said, they were never formally bonded. I’ll give the car journey a go…do you have any other ideas for bonding sessions? I’ve done a bit of research, but mostly the advice is for starting from scratch ?.
  
  Ha, i wish he responded to a ‘No!’…i think we need a few training sessions too ?. We try clapping, making noise but that rarely works. Next step is to physically come between them and distract/calm them. But 90% of the time he goes straight back to the mounting/circling, which is when we seperate. It’s not a daily occurrence, maybe only once or twice week…but would rather tackle it sooner rather than later.
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